Saturday, August 25, 2012

Ten! Ah ah ah ah!

On my way to Worcester yesterday Erin texted me that Jerry Nelson had passed away. I read a few months ago that he was in failing health, and that he had pretty much retired from puppeteering except for the vocal work of Count Von Count.

When I was rattling off to Ricky all the characters Jerry Nelson played, he was amazed. Sherlock Hemlock, Camilla, Gobo, Emmitt Otter, Robin, Fozzie's mom, The Amazing Mumford, Floyd Pepper, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Uncle Deadly... I could just list roles, but that'd be boring.

Here's him as Count Von Count, along with Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog.

And here's a video I found of Jerry Nelson singing When The River Meets The Sea at Jim Henson's memorial service in 1990 with another Muppeteer, Louise Gold. Try to keep a dry eye at this one: